ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who’s looking for a 3rd consecutive time period in workplace in elections in Could, marks 20 years in energy on Tuesday.
The 69-year-old, who served as prime minister from 2003-2014 and as president thereafter, began as a reformist who expanded rights and freedoms, permitting his majority-Muslim nation to begin European Union membership negotiations.
He later reversed course, cracking down on dissent, stifling the media and passing measures that eroded democracy.
The presidential and parliamentary elections set for Could 14 may very well be Erdogan’s most difficult but. They are going to be held amid financial turmoil and excessive inflation, simply three months after a devastating earthquake that killed tens of 1000’s.
Right here’s a have a look at among the key dates throughout Erdogan’s rule:
March 27, 1994: Erdogan is elected mayor of Istanbul, working on the pro-Islamic Welfare Get together ticket.
Dec. 12, 1997: Erdogan is convicted of “inciting hatred” for studying a poem that the courts deem to be in violation of Turkey’s secular rules, and sentenced to 4 months in jail.
Aug. 14, 2001: Erdogan, who broke away from the Welfare Get together with different members of its reformist wing, varieties the conservative Justice and Growth Get together, or AKP.
Nov. 3, 2002: A 12 months after it’s based, AKP wins a parliamentary majority normally elections. Erdogan nevertheless, is barred from working because of his conviction.
March 9, 2003: Erdogan is elected to parliament in a by-election after his political ban is lifted.
March 14: 2003: Erdogan replaces his AKP colleague Abdullah Gul as prime minister.
Oct. 3, 2005: Turkey begins accession talks with the European Union after Erdogan’s authorities introduces a collection of reforms.
July 22, 2007: Erdogan wins 46.6% of the votes normally elections.
March 31, 2008: Constitutional Courtroom accepts an indictment looking for the AKP’s closure for acts allegedly in violation of secularism. The court docket finally guidelines to not shutter the celebration however cuts treasury financing for political events.
October 20, 2008: The primary of a collection of trials in opposition to army officers, lawmakers and public figures begins. The suspects are accused of plotting to overthrow the federal government, in what develop into sham trials based mostly on faked proof and designed to eradicate Erdogan’s opponents. The trials have been later blamed on the community of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Sept. 12, 2010: Erdogan wins a referendum on constitutional adjustments that enable the federal government to nominate excessive court docket judges, curb the powers of the army and guarantee presidents are elected by a nationwide vote fairly than by parliament.
June 12, 2011: Erdogan wins basic elections with a landslide 49.8% of the vote.
Could 28, 2013: Nationwide anti-government protests erupt over plans to chop down timber in Istanbul’s central Gezi Park. Turkey’s largest ever protests end in eight deaths, whereas the federal government is accused of utilizing extreme drive in opposition to protesters.
Aug. 10, 2014: Erdogan wins Turkey’s first presidential election held by direct well-liked vote. Though the publish is essentially ceremonial, he’s accused of exceeding his powers and meddling within the working of the nation.
June 7, 2015: The AKP, headed by Ahmet Davutoglu after Erdogan turned president, loses its majority in parliamentary elections, and is pressured to hunt a coalition.
Nov. 1, 2015: AKP regains a parliamentary majority in re-run elections following months of insecurity, together with suicide bombings by the Islamic State group and reignition of a decades-long battle with Kurdish militants.
July 15, 2016: Erdogan’s authorities survives a army coup try blamed on followers of U.S.-based cleric Gulen, a former ally. The failed coup leads to almost 290 deaths. The federal government then embarks on a large-scale crackdown on Gulen’s community, arresting tens of 1000’s and purging greater than 130,000 from authorities jobs. Many media and nongovernmental organizations are closed down and the crackdown then expands to critics, together with Kurdish lawmakers and journalists. The EU accession talks, which had made sluggish progress, are frozen amid the democratic backtracking.
April 16, 2017: Voters in a referendum narrowly approve switching the nation’s political system from a parliamentary democracy to an govt presidential system, abolishing the publish of prime minister and concentrating an enormous quantity of energy within the arms of the president. Critics name the system a “one-man rule.”
June 24, 2018: Erdogan wins presidential elections with 52.59% of the vote, turning into Turkey’s first president with govt powers, whereas his celebration’s alliance with a nationalist celebration secures a majority in parliament.
June 22, 2019: Erdogan’s celebration loses re-run election for Istanbul mayor by a landslide after it contests March elections which the primary opposition celebration’s candidate had narrowly received. It’s the primary time since Erdogan’s mayoral win in 1994 that his celebration and its predecessors lose Turkey’s most necessary metropolis.
Feb. 6, 2023: A strong earthquake devastates components of Turkey and Syria, killing greater than 48,000 folks in Turkey. Erdogan’s authorities is criticized for its poor response to the catastrophe and for failing to organize the nation for a large-scale quake.
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Related Press author Zeynep Bilginsoy contributed from Istanbul.